Going from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Luka Jovic would be a massive downgrade

By Daniel Finton (Deputy Editor)

Along with the viral problem plaguing the earth, Arsenal also find themselves in another, notably less important, although equally annoying, predicament as well: the Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang contractual situation.

The free-scoring talisman is yet to sign a new deal with the club despite only having one-year left on his current contract. Many supporters are beginning to fall under the impression that the former Dortmund striker will be leaving the club when time allows. A host of clubs such as Real Madrid, Manchester United, and most notably Barcelona are said to be interested in the idea of bringing the Gabon international to their clubs. Could you blame them?

Since arriving in North London, Aubamayeng has maintained his prolific goal-scoring exploits, scoring 61 times in 97 appearances in all competitions. Letting a player like Aubameyang go would be painful, yet acceptable if a quality replacement is acquired to fill the void left. Unfortunately, with one name that has been heavily linked with a move to the gunners, it appears as if the board are pushing to bring in a signficant downgrade as replacement in Luka Jovic. Yes, most players would be a downgrade on such a talented player, but Jovic feels like a drastic one.

Jovic, who had a really good time with his former club Frankfurt, has had an absolutely torrid time with Real Madrid. The young Serbian has only managed 15 league appearances with Los Blancos and Zinedine Zidane seems to prefer the ageing Karim Benzema in his stead. Though many may argue that the legend Zizou is being harsh on Jovic and the striker deserves more of a chance, I do not personally buy into that.

To be frank, if Aubameyang was a Real Madrid player there would be no doubt as to who would be playing between him and Benzema. The fact that Jovic has been cast aside for a 32-year-old, who to be fair has been exceptional in the last two seasons, exemplifies the Serbian striker’s shortcomings.

Contrarily, the “shortcoming-less”, Spiderman mask donning superstar sees his contract getting closer and closer to coming to an end with the gunners. The club should be and seemingly are already looking to the market for his replacement. Along with rumours linking him to United and Barcelona, come further rumours linking him with a move to Zidane’s Madrid in exchange for, you guessed it, Jovic. The rumours will continue to circulate until Aubameyang signs a contract, and in all honesty, I do not see that happening.

All in all, Jovic may seem like a good idea on paper, but the shoes he’d be expected to fill would be a hell of a lot bigger than he seems to be capable of filling. Furthermore, many well-established figures in the game have questioned the 22-year-old and his behaviour. After the Real Madrid striker illegally left his house to see his girlfriend in Serbia when he was supposed to be on quarantine from the Coronavirus, it resulted in a massive flurry of headlines criticising him for not only being a flop with Madrid, but also immature. The former Serbian star Stepanovic stated recently that, “Jovic is doing everything to ruin his career…”

The sky is falling on top of Jovic at the moment and he appears to be cracking under the pressure. While it is sad and I feel bad for him, that’d be a feeling he’d have to get used to paying for Arsenal.

Anyways, in closing, there are other, cheaper options out there. For me, Jovic is not the ideal candidate to replace Aubameyang. It would be an underwhelming successor and enormous downgrade to the world class striker slipping from grasp.